Lars Björn

Blue-Collar Blues: The Sexual Harassment of Women Autoworkers.

Harassment frequency, severity, response, and effect were analyzed for a sample of 138 women who work mostly in unskilled jobs in the auto industry. It was hypothesized that these would be related to several social and work-related characteristics: specifically low social of work status, or low numerical representation in a work area. Our analysis found that blacks, unmarried, or young (under 25) women, or those with low job status, or who worked in an area where women were a sizable minority were more likely to be the targets of frequent harassment. Black women, or those who were a sizable minority in a work area, were also likely to be severely harassed. Harassment response, however, was not related to either social or work-related characteristics. In other words, women who are the targets of harassment do not respond differently than women who are less frequently or severely harassed. Several consequences of sexual harassment were found. Feelings toward coworkers and supervisors were adversely affected by harassment; overall job satisfaction, feelings of job competence, and work mobility aspirations were not influenced. Finally, there was some evidence that harassment generalized beyond the workplace: Harassed women reported lower self-esteem and experienced less global life satisfaction.

ROUTES TO A FEMINIST ORIENTATION AMONG WOMEN AUTOWORKERS

This article analyzes the orientation of 150 women autoworkers toward feminism. Demographic variables had no significant independent effects when considered with other variables. Age, marital status, and education did have noteworthy mediated effects. Seniority level, workplace threat, and job skills were significant determinants of feminist orientations. Womens feelings of being trapped in a job, their feelings of job competence, and their self-esteem were also important factors. The interrelationships among the variables suggested that there are two routes to profeminist attitudes. One route is followed by older, higher-seniority women who develop a positive stance toward feminism as a result of mostly positive work-related experiences (high skills, high job competence, high self-esteem). The other route is followed by younger, divorced, or college-educated women whose negative work-related experiences (low seniority, low job skills, high job entrapment, low job competence) apparently sensitize them to feminist issues.